K: [scrolls out on the map] Yes, here’s China, and then England is way over here.

Don:[really just beside herself] ENGLAND IS NEXT TO US?! Like, it’s right across this water?!

K:[laughing so hard I can’t breathe] The Atlantic Ocean!? Yes! It’s “right across from us”!

Don: I thought it was on the other side! Like you go to California first!

K: No, that’s how you would get to China. I mean, you could keep going past China but that would take forever.

Don: No that’s stupid! It’s just right there!

K: That’s why they say “across the pond”.

Don: I didn’t think anything was next to us! I honestly thought it was all on the other side. [Note: by “the other side” she means the West Coast side of the US. We live on the East Coast, obviously. Making England “just across from us!”]

K: You didn’t think anything was next to us?! You know the world is round, right?

Don: I just never thought about it, I guess.

K:[picks up phone, texts G] Just had epic convo with Don. She didn’t know where Europe was.

These are my very favorite winter boots. I got mine on Gilt a couple years ago now and they have held up spectacularly. They’re adorable, warm, and a New England winter essential as far as I am concerned. They’re selling out quickly, so get over there fast!

Things got really hairy there for awhile. In fact, it may still be a bit precarious here in Novel Writing Land. It didn’t take me long to reach that point where I hated everything I was writing and moving forward just seemed like I would be digging myself into a big old mess I wouldn’t want to edit once I was finished.

So I did something crazy and went backwards. I pretty much went right back to the beginning and started all over. I hadn’t intended to; I had just intended to go back and finagle a few of the larger details and rework a few scenes, but one thing led to another and I found myself re-writing everything.

Not a great place to find yourself in at the beginning of week two. But now I feel more confident in what I’m writing, which is making it easier to move forward.

Another thing that’s started to happen, is suddenly my brain is working overtime coming up with ideas for other novels. I’ve been having random strikes of inspiration, whether it’s for an entirely new idea or improving upon an idea I’ve had living in my brain for awhile. I imagine it’s just because my creative juices are flowing (that phrase actually really squicks me out), but I’m not complaining. In between bursts of writing I’ve been jotting down ideas all over the place. Not very productive for my current work, but hey. You gotta take it when you can.

Whenever I am looking for a specific item, said item is never anywhere to be found.

The perfect pair of brown boots that aren’t too brown and aren’t too orange and have a heel but not too much of a heel? Can’t find a single pair. Last year, when my brown boots were still in perfectly good condition? My dream boots were everywhere.

If you need a dress for a special occasion, or a pair of red pumps, or a storage ottoman for your bedroom. These things will be available in abundance until you actually go looking for them with the intent to purchase one of them. Then, suddenly, they’ll disappear from the planet. There will be red pumps, but they’ll have a round toe and you want a pointy one. There will be dresses, but they’ll all be better suited for a business lunch than a fancy dinner party. And there will be storage ottomans, but not THE storage ottoman, not the storage ottoman that puts all the other storage ottomans to shame.

This is just a Rule of the Universe. This is kind of like the Murphy’s Law of shopping – It won’t be there when you need it. So when an opportunity presents itself, you should probably take it.

Take, for instance, the leopard coat I have been pining over for years.

It was probably, oh, three or four years ago at this point. I was with my mom and I think my aunt, and we were at a mall, but I couldn’t tell you which one. I think we were in a Lord & Taylor, which is odd because we don’t really shop at Lord & Taylor and I’m not even sure there’s one nearby? Anyway, it was definitely a department store and not one I’d normally be in. So I wasn’t looking for anything. We were walking through the coat department, and someone stopped to look at the coats (it was during the winter, or early spring, since winter coats were out and it was dark outside) and as I waited for them to finish, I spied a leopard fur coat.

I meandered over to it, intrigued. I was just starting my obsession with fashion blogs and a leopard fur coat was a very fashion blogger thing to have at the time (really, it still is). But it was still pretty far outside my comfort zone. It was on sale for $100, fit me perfectly, and the sky opened up with light and angels sang when I put it on. But my mom said “What are you gonna do with a leopard coat?!” so I put it back and walked away, sure she had a point.

Years later I still dream about this coat. My Pinterest boards are evidence of my small obsession:

Basically, I’ve been kicking myself for years that I didn’t seize an opportunity when I had it.

Yesterday I was at Nordstrom with my mom because she decided out of the blue that she HAD TO HAVE a Barbour jacket (or as she called it, “one of those British wax coats!”) and while she tried on every coat in the store and admired herself I wandered over to the sale rack, where I had spied a hooded trench coat. I’ve been wanting to replace my current trench coat, which has a hood ( I am a hood girl) but it isn’t removable and it cost barely anything at H&M years ago and it is really looking pretty craptastic, but I haven’t been able to find a worthwhile replacement. I’ve been dreaming of saving up for a Burberry one, but that would take me years. The one on the sale rack didn’t make the grade, so I wandered further into the coat department when suddenly I was stopped in my tracks by the most beautiful, perfect trench coat this world has ever seen. I ran over to it and excitedly grasped it in my hands.

“The hood comes off!” I screeched. I lifted it from the hanger, eager to try it on.

“Oh, it feels so heavy,” I lamented to myself. “I don’t want a trench coat that will be too heavy to wear on a warm yet rainy spring day.” That’s when I noticed the removable lining. REMOVABLE LINING, MY FRIENDS. This coat just got 80 times better. I hadn’t looked at the price tag yet, but at this point it didn’t even matter, I HAD TO HAVE IT. I braced myself for disappointment, and imagine my complete and utter glee when it was only $160.

$160 for the most perfect trench coat I couldn’t have even dreamed up myself? Yes, please!

Well, we are four days in to NaNoWriMo and things have been going pretty well. I’m behind on my word count, but I had an uncharacteristically busy weekend. I plan on catching up and even pulling ahead this week, since it’s been SO SLOW at work.

Yeah, I’ve been writing at work. Don’t tell my bosses.

I’ve been writing in Google Drive, which is actually working out really well for me. I can access the document anywhere and it automatically saves on a constant basis, so I’m not worried about losing anything. I even put the app on my phone in case inspiration strikes when I’m out and about. This is my trick this year for getting those words in.

I’ve also been reading Nathan Bransford’s new ebook, How to Write a Novel, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely keeping me motivated and heading in the right direction. Starting a project like this is incredibly daunting, but I am determined not only to finish, but to have a solid completed project on my hands. Something I can even show off and maybe even publish.

I’m kind of obsessed with flat booties right now. Especially those with a kind of pointy toe. I didn’t think I’d be into them, but then I accidentally tried on a pair the other day (they just LEAPT on to my feet, I swear!), and now I need some. I think I’m going to add a pair to my Christmas list. Hear that mom Santa? 😉